When Two Stars Cross
by waybackwhen
Summary: She was a protective warrior with a broken past. He was an emotionless prodigy with a lot of secrets. She followed him with the intention of killing him, but ended up protecting him instead. That single moment sparked a friendship built upon mutual pain. But she has a dark secret, and a past even darker than his.
1. Mistaken Identity

**Chapter one~ Mistaken Identity**

It had taken hours of non-stop begging for my twin brother Mike to convince me to join him and two of our other friends at the fair that frigid cold Saturday night. I argued that I had a test that following Monday to which he responded by promising he'd leave me alone all day Sunday to study. How could I say no to that offer?

So I sat in the back of my brother's Mustang absently running one hand through my long, jet black hair while staring into the distance with my pale blue eyes and mumbling the names of the regions of the body that I needed to know for the test, finger spelling each with my free hand in sign language to help the spelling stick.

Sitting in the passenger's seat was not only my best friend, but Mike's girlfriend, Olivia Graves. Olivia, or Livvy as we often called her, was an even-tempered 16 year old girl with long blonde hair and gleaming purpe eyes always alight with shear innocence. Sometimes our lifestyle was a little hard for someone as sweet and naive as her, but when it came down to it, she had our backs as much as we had hers.

Rounding off our secluded little group and sharing the back seat with me was a boy named Dean Electus. Dean, a boy 18 years of age, was very quiet and easy going; more of a follower than a leader, making him easy for someone who was used to being the leader like myself to get along with. He had dirty blonde hair which was grown about to his chin and always pushed back off his face. His eyes were a gold color.

None of us made any attempt to strike up a conversation aside from Dean's occasional correction of my spelling and Livvy softly whispering about how she loved the song that had just come on the radio. The silence never really bothered us since we were usually too lost in our own thoughts to notice anyway.

I continued my studying as the four of us walked- still enveloped in silence- to the main gates to buy our tickets. One thing about me is that once I set my mind to something- like studying those words- it's near impossible to get my mind off of my task. Walking into the main building, it became nearly impossible to focus with all of the cool things all over. I didn't mind too much, though. Our group didn't get too much down time in which we could pretend to be normal teenagers for a while, so I abandoned my studying to spend a little time with my loved ones.

As we started going on the rides, I took notice of two suspicious men also wandering the park. I began keeping careful tabs on them. One man was slightly taller than the other, and both looked older than the four of us. They were both dressed in the same long sleeved black robes adorn with a red cloud pattern, and each had a metal plated forehead protector with a different symbol on it. The taller man, who appeared to have blue skin and mercilessly cold eyes, had four diagonal lines on his metal plate that had one large horizontal line slashed through them. On his back, he carried a large object I couldn't even begin to identify due to it being wrapped up in white cloth.

The other man had hair nearly as dark as mine and Mike's but with more of a navy blue tinge to it and piercing red eyes, which was what had initially caught my attention. His metal plate had what looked a leaf with a spiral in the center of it and a similar slash through the symbol as his friend. His robe was open part of the way and his left arm rested there instead of in the sleeve like a sling or something.

As the night progressed, the other members of my group noticed them as well, but assumed they were performers and didn't pay them much mind. As usual, I was being the only logical one in the group. These men had Marc and Shawn written all over them.

Marc Neco and Shawn Hostis were two men who had been after my brother and me for a long time. Marc, a man in his late thirties, had black hair that was never cut in any particular fashion and murderous black eyes that could cause you to turn tail and run from a fight with him simply by looking into them. This man, who was personally responsible for the death of my mother and all of the hardships my brother and I had to face, was actually our father as well.

Shawn was an old friend of mine with hair and eyes nearly identical to the younger looking of he robed men. His longing to finally defeat me had driven him to the dark side and he had found himself on the side plotting the death of Mike and me.

I continued to keep a careful eye on the two mysterious men as our group sat down to enjoy a little bit of food. The men- coincidentally- sat down at the table right beside ours. They whispered intently, but it was far too loud for me to actually hear them.

The man with the red eyes stood up, seeming displeased, and started walking off. I had to follow him. Confronting him when he was alone was with out a doubt safer than if he was with his friend.

"I'll be right back," I rose with a very convincing smile, "just need to use the bathroom." Then I took off after the red-eyes man.

I stayed a safe distance behind him, never once losing sight of him in spite of the vast crowds. He slipped between two of the rides unnoticed by anyone but me. With a quick glace around, I followed after him. I stayed hidden and observed as the man walked across a pond- literally on top of the water- to a bridge across the center. I rubbed my eyes, trying to rationalize what I had just witnessed.

Without any warning, two other men ambushed the first. One of them was clearly older and taller with white spiky hair. The other looked to be about 13, and had dark colored hair about as long as Dean's.

While the three engaged in an unheard conversation, I sprinted over to them. Just as the two men were about to attack, I jumped in the middle of the fight with my guard up to protect the robed man. The other two stopped in their tracks.

"What the-" The younger boy shuddered, a look of astonishment on his face. "What are you doing? Get out of the way!"

"Not a chance!" I pulled out a dagger I had concealed in my combat boots. "I'm just evening the playing field. You two don't fight very fair."

"I'll take care of this Kakashi." The boy advanced toward me. "I could use a little warm up before the real battle begins."

I didn't respond to the boy's implication that fighting me would be an easy task. I just looked over my shoulder with a friendly smile at the robed man, who, upon closer inspection, was clearly not who I had mistaken him for. "So, I'll take care of the annoying, arrogant one, and you can take Kakashi." I didn't need to look to know that the boy glared at me with a burning hatred second only to Shawn's. The robed man seemed dumbfounded. I didn't blame him. I'd have the same look on my face if some random girl had come out of no where to defend me.

"Sasuke, do _not underestimate_ this girl!." The white haired man warned. "Be careful."

"You know," I stepped deliberately slowly away from the robed man so that I was face to face with that Sasuke brat, "I won't think any less of you if you'd rather walk away without a fight now that you've lost one of your key advantages."

"Sorry," He grinned smugly, "but that's not going to happen."

"Fine, fine, if you insist on a fight, I'll give you a fight." I struck a fighting pose, grinning ear to ear in anticipation to fight this mysterious race similar to my own. "But don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're younger than me."

Sasuke scoffed at me, ignoring his partners warning completely. "Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a girl."

I clenched my teeth, my hand trembling from gripping my weapon too tightly. "You're annoying..." I reached into my pocket and Sasuke tensed up, preparing for an attack. He was pretty surprised when, instead of whatever weapon he was anticipating, I pulled out a pack of gum.

"Are you kidding me?" He cried as I popped a piece in my mouth.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I held the pack out to him, "did you want a piece?"

With unanticipated ferocity and speed, Sasuke threw a kunai knife right for my head. I shifted my weight slightly and felt the kunai wiz past my ear. "Well you could have just said no." In an instant, I had nearly teleported behind him. "You're just a rude as you are annoying." Then I elbowed him in the spine.

He spun around and tried to punch me in the face, but I blocked the attack with ease and kneed him in the stomach. He jumped backwards, trying to get a chance to compose himself. I didn't allow him such a chance. I charged at him with my dagger engulfed in flames. He tried to halt my assault with three ninja stars, but I leaped over them and aimed my blade for his chest.

Realizing he wouldn't be able to move fast enough to dodge the attack, he threw up his arms to protect his vital organs. An almost inaudible whimper of pain left his mouth as the blade sank into his arm, searing his skin in the process. He tried to take he opportunity to stab me with another kunai, but I tore my blade from his arm and blocked the attempt at an attack, then distanced myself from the angry child.

Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration and pain. "What kind of ninjutsu was that? I didn't see her make a single hand sign!"

"Hey," I turned to face the robed man while still keeping an ear out for Sasuke's attack, "what's your name anyway?"

The man had been watching the battle intently but had long since gained his composure after the initial shock of me coming to his aid. "My name is Itachi Uchiha. I'm curious why you came to my aid."

I considered this question for a second before responding, "Well, I saw that these two were trying to double team you, and I always love a good fight, so I figured I'd lend a hand." I narrowed my eyes at Sasuke. "Then that little punk made it personal by insulting me."

Kakashi,who's emotions were difficult to decipher considering a mask covered his whole face aside from his right eye, spoke to me for the first time. "Do you have any idea who you're defending?"

I casually waved my hand in the air, unphased by Kakashi's serious tone. "Well, he said his name is Itachi, so I can only assume that's who I'm defending." I loved being able to give obvious answers to stupid questions. It always made me feel so much smarter that the person I was talking to.

"Itachi is an S-class criminal wanted for the single-handed slaughter of the entire Uchiha clan. Every ninja knows this!" Ninja...? Did this man think I was a ninja.

"I'm no ninja, so how would I know?" I cried, "He may be a criminal to your kind, but not to mine, so you've made a moot point."

"Who are you?" Sasuke took a defensive step back. "What are you?"

"My name is Shay, Shay Vita. I'm an Imperium."I started walking toward Sasuke slowing twisting the blood-slick blade in my hand. "You should have listened to your partner's warning not to underestemate me. Last person who did that died. You should have backed down when you have the chance, but you just had to be cocky. Now that you know what you're up against, I suggest you back down. This is your last chance. From here on out I won't hold back."


	2. Prodigy Vs Prodigy

**Recap:**

"Who are you?" Sasuke took a defensive step back, "What are you?"

"My name is Shay Vita. I'm an Imperium." I started walking toward Sasuke slowly twisting the blood slick dagger in my hand. "You should have listened to your partner's warning not to underestimate me. The last person who did that died. You should have backed down when you had the chance, but you just had to be cocky. Now that you know what you're up against, I suggest you leave. This is your last chance. From here on out, I won't hold back."

**Chapter Two~ Prodigy Vs. Prodigy**

"Not a chance!" Sasuke started making hand signs- not like any sign language I'd ever seen- and cried while he blew into a circle he made with his hand, "Fire style: Fireball jutsu!"

So the boy used fire-based attacks- jutsu as he'd called it. In that instant, the battle became hopeless for him.

A huge ball of fire stemmed from his hand, growing in size until it swallowed me. I continued to walk forward using my controlling abilities to keep the fire at a safe distance the whole time. I replaced my dagger in my boot, pushed off the ground, and emerged from the ball of fire with my fist aimed for Sasuke's jaw. He had no time to react; his surprise another advantage to me. The longer I kept him guessing, the longer he'd have to spend adjusting to my abilities. I'd walked into that battle prepared for anything; Sasuke, apparently, hadn't.

Sasuke fell to the ground at my feet. Once on his hands and knees, he looked me over. "How is that possible? " He panted slightly, "You don't even have a scratch on you!"

"Maybe it's best if you just stay down..." I kicked him in the side and sent him skidding across the dock. "Your skill with weapons is good, but mine is better." He stayed down, so I walked over to him and crouched down at his side."You're pretty fast, but not fast enough. I've trained my entire life in hand-to-hand combat, so fighting like that won't do. And your fire attacks have no effect on me. If you advance in this battle, you'd just be wasting both of our time." I straightened back up and started walking away. "Just go back home, kid. The battle field is no place for someone like you."

He put his fist against the ground trying to push himself back up. "I'm... Not done yet."

Sighing impatiently, I stopped about ten yards away and turned back to face him again."So be it. If you're this intent on proving me wrong, then show me what else you can do. Just try not to waste any more of my time."

I couldn't fathom how he could still move his arm after that dagger wound, but I was a little impressed. There had to be a reason he was so determined to beat me, and I had a feeling Itachi had something to do with it.

"Before you attack," I lowered my voice so that the conversation could be just between the two of us, "tell me: why don't you just walk away? Is facing off with Itachi that important to you, or is it me that you wish to fight?"

Sasuke's eyes grew cold, so full of intense hatred that it sent a shudder down my spine. He said in a low growl, "Someone like you couldn't possibly understand."

I narrowed my eyes at the boy. "How can you be so sure? You don't know a thing about me. My life hasn't been any picnic either. But if you don't care to tell me, then whatever. Now show me this big, tables-turning jutsu of yours before I finish you off."

Itachi and Kakashi were too focused on Sasuke and Shay's face off to fight themselves. They watched as the two engaged in a conversation, and Kakashi inquired, "Do you think that Sasuke stands a chance against that girl?"

"Hard to tell." Itachi still didn't really understand why Shay had come to help him without even knowing what she was up against. "I don't know enough about her to tell, but it would seem that she has the upper hand for now."

"For now." Kakashi repeated. He tried to make out what the two were saying, but they were at an angle where he couldn't even see their lips. Then he watched Sasuke make hand signs that he knew very well and wondered how Shay would dodge that attack.

"It only seems fair to warn you," Sasuke took a deep, calming breath, "that you won't catch me off guard anymore. Your fighting style is so predictable." A smug smile crossed his lips.

"Says the punk getting his sorry butt kicked." I glanced over at Kakashi and Itachi. "I wonder if it would be more interesting to fight one of them." Sasuke started making hand signs, so I returned my attention to him, hoping he'd learned from his last fire attack and wasn't planning on using another.

He thrusted his harm toward the ground and used his other to support it. For a moment, nothing happened and all was silent. Then some kind of ball of blue lightning formed in his palm. It made a horrible screeching sound and encased his whole hand. Instinct told me to prepare a counter thinking of the lightning in terms of a dagger. Holding out my hand, I focused all of my energy to it and created a fire ball.

"Chidori!" He cried and ran for me at an incredible speed. I sprinted straight at him, wishing the fight would be more challenging so I could actually try my best. Once he was about to thrust the lightning "blade" into my chest, I lept into the air and flipped over his head. Then I hit him in the spine with my fire "blade." He let out a cry of pain and fell face-first on the ground.

Part of me felt bad, but more than anything I felt kind of ripped off. All of that big talk, all that anticipation of fighting this race kind of like my own, and the kid didn't even land a single hit.

"That's it?" I took my hair out of its pony tail, signifying the end of the fight. "I was hardly even trying." I looked up at Kakashi, sever disappointment in my voice. "Do you want to take your friend and leave now? If you'd rather stay and fight, I'd have to advise against it. The odds are not in your favor."

Kakashi motioned to Sasuke, "I don't think he's done yet."

I looked over as Sasuke struggled to his knees. "Impossible..." I pulled out my dagger again. "This is seriously getting ridiculous. Why won't you just stay down?!"

"You see," Kakashi took a few steps back as he spoke, "Sasuke here has a bone to pick with your buddy Itachi. The more you get in his way, the harder he'll fight to get past you."

Upon first glance, I nearly missed the fact that his eyes had changed colors. They were red now, with some strange black design. "Those eyes..." I glanced at Itachi and immediately realized that their eyes were practically the same. "I don't understand. You two have the same eyes."

"Enough messing around!" Sasuke's confidence seemed to be renewed and I braced myself for whatever he had in store with those eyes of his. "You said before that you weren't even trying. I suggest you start."

"If you insist." I grinned wickedly, glad that things were finally starting to heat up. Whatever trick he was up to, I'd be able to counter it no problem.

I ran for him and slashed the knife at him a few times. He managed to dodge every attempt with an ease that ticked me off. Then he found the perfect opening to crouch under my blade and kick me in the jaw, sending me flying into the air. In an instant, he teleported in my shadow and warned, "Get ready."

Sasuke kneed me in the spine and then punched me in the stomach. I fell back toward the dock while he called after me, "Get back here. I'm not done with you!" and brought his heel down on my chest. Then we both hit the dock hard, surprising me that we hadn't fallen through.

I struggled to my feet, trying to figure out how he'd been able to see my moves practically before I'd made them.

He shook some wood chips out of his hair, a smug grin on his face. "These eyes allow me to see your attacks almost as if we we're fighting in slow motion. It's called the Sharingan and it possesses many other abilities, but most of them don't apply to someone like you since you don't use ninjutsu. Still, you use tijutsu just like us. You can't beat me because you'll never hit me now."

"You want me to try my hardest, so be it." I closed my eyes and focused on the darkness that was locked inside my heart, because the only way to neutralize his ability to see me coming was to make it so he couldn't see me at all. "But once I unleash my full power, I can't always control myself. I've tried not to let it come to this, because I'm hesitant to kill a young prodigy such as yourself, but you've left me no other choice."

When I opened my eyes, the color change did not go unnoticed by Sasuke. It was kind of hard to miss my normally blue eyes changing to black when I unleashed the darkness.

"Take a good look." I said in a misleadingly passive voice typical of when I'm under the influence of the darkness. "The next time you see me will be the last."


	3. Protective Heart

**Recap:**

When I opened my eyes, the color change did not go unnoticed by Sasuke. It was kind of hard to miss my normally blue eyes changing to black when I unleashed the darkness.

"Take a good look." I said in a misleadingly passive voice typical of when I'm under the influence of the darkness. "The next time you see me will be the last."

**Chapter Three~ Protective Heart**

Holding my palm out to Sasuke I encased us both in a shroud of darkness, making visibility zero. Part of me wanted to end the battle as quickly as possible with as little bloodshed as possible, but the other part, the dark half, longed to see the dock drenched in Sasuke's blood before I finally did him the kindness of ending his life.

Sasuke's breathing and heart rate sped up making him so much easier to locate. Vibrations coming from their direction told me that one of the others was running for us, and Kakashi's voice calling out Sasuke's name made the identity obvious.

I was about to throw one of my daggers, but Itachi beat me to the punch, and placed himself between Kakashi and mine and Sasuk'e battle. It became clear that I had gained his trust and that he was worthy of mine.

I closed my eyes- having them open seemed pointless- and listened to Sasuke mumbling about his inability to see. In an instant, I stood in front of him and kicked him in the chest.

"You shouldn't talk so much." I hit him a few more times, then retreated back into the safety of the darkness. "It makes you way to easy to find." I threw one of my daggers and heard him cry out in pain. "Come on, Sasuke! This will be no fun if I can find you this easily." I was speaking in a light, joking tone that had a dark and sinister edge to it. "If you can't even beat me, then what chance do you stand against Itachi?" I mocked.

I was foolish and let my guard down. Sasuke could sense that and took the opportunity to counterattack. He threw my dagger back at me, but I managed to dodge the assault by mere inches. Then he kicked me in the stomach and sent me skidding across the dock out of the cloud of darkness and near where my dagger had landed.

"Shay!" Itachi started toward me, but I gave him a look that stopped him in his tracks. I barely noticed the slightest hint of concern his his eyes and lacing his tone, but, when his eyes darted swiftly to where Sasuke was, I knew the concern was not for me.

"Stay out of this." I growled jerking my dagger from the dock and rising to my feet. "I'm done messing around. This fight is over now!"

I charged blindly into the darkness and easily located Sasuke. I ran past him, slicing into his flesh as I did. The boy let out a tiny whimper of pain, and then I heard him hit the ground. The cloud of darkness disappeared.

My dagger was poised to deal the finishing blow, but my hand trembled with confliction. Sasuke had done nothing to vindicate his murder at my hand, but my dark side longed to kill the arrogant little brat. I couldn't do that, though. After that little show of concern from Itachi earlier that would have gone unnoticed by anyone else I feared that killing Sasuke would lead to me making an enemy of the stoic man. Although the connection between him and Sasuke was still very unclear, killing him would not be in anyone's best interest.

"Take him and go, Kakashi." He hesitated. "Hurry!" I commanded, "Before I can't control myself anymore!"

Without another word, Kakashi took the boy, watching me like a hawk while he approached, and disappeared into the night.

Still shaking with blood-lust, I forced myself to drop my weapon and push back the Darkness. As the Darkness faded away, I fell to my knees panting. Itachi came to my side.

"Are you alright, Shay?"

"Yeah," He supported me as I struggled to my feet again, allowing me to cling to his shoulder for support. "That power- takes up- a lot of energy. Difficult to control without- totally losing yourself. So many have fallen victim to the temptation of the power- the Darkness holds. But enough about that." I released his shoulder so that I could look him in the eyes and questioned, "What's the deal with you and that Sasuke kid?"

Itachi hesitated for a long moment, not really looking at me but off into the distance over my shoulder. "Sasuke's my little brother."

That was why they had the same eyes. "I thought Kakashi said you killed everyone in the Uchiha clan. Wouldn't that include Susuke?"

He shook his head. "I let him live."

I considered this for a moment, and then finally asked what had truly been on my mind, "Why did you do it?"

He chose then to meet my eyes, his piercing and deadly, and responded, "To test the limit of my power." He was so unaware that I saw through his lies.

"I mean the real reason, Itachi, not the cover story that you tell everyone else." The murderous intent was wiped clean from his face, and surprise flashed across his eyes. "There's no use in lying to me. I can read your mind." I smirked softly.

"Before I divulge the truth behind the Uchiha clan massacre to some 16-year-old-"

"17" I interjected indignantly.

"Who I've just met," he continued, not really acknowledging my little outburst, "tell me more about your kind."

I absently wandered to the edge of the dock pulling wood chips from my hair. "Imperium: Latin for Controller. We all possess the ability to control certain elements depending upon who our parents are."

Cleverly putting two and two together, Itachi inquired, "You're a fire controller, right? That's why the fireball Justsu had no effect on you."

I nodded softly, "I control Darkness as well, but you probably figured that out as well." I could see his shadow created by the full moon nod in agreement. "I'm one of two people that have the ability to chose whether to control it or not. Everyone born to parents who controls the Darkness, even if it's only one of them, is born as a slave to the Darkness; they're born dark. Not me, though. That's a very long and boring story, though. Not really worth getting into."

"You were an outcast as a child, weren't you?" My hands froze in my hair as I thought about the loneliness I endured as a child.

Laughing softly and forcing my hands back into motion, I said in an uncaring voice, "My soul is half light and half dark. I was written off as a demon and avoided. No parent in their right mind would let their child play with one of the Demon Children." I let my hands drop to my sides. "That doesn't matter in the slightest. If I had known that love as a child, I wouldn't be as strong as I am now. As long as I can protect the people most important to me, like my brother, then I'm in good shape."

Suddenly, Itachi became stiff. "Someone's coming." I followed his eyes to the end of that dock and saw my brother sprinting across it. He called out my name but the sound was nearly inaudible because of the wind. Itachi thought the boy was Sasuke.

"Itachi-" I began, trying to inform the man, who I could see from his thoughts had pretty poor vision, that the boy running toward us was my brother and not his. I didn't get the chance, because at that moment, he shoved me off of the dock and into the water.

"I'm fighting him this time, Shay-Chan" He ran straight for Mike.

"No, Itachi, stop!" I tried to climb up on the dock, but his blue-skinned friend chose that time to make an appearance.

"Kisame," Itachi called to his partner, "water prison."

That was all the communication they needed; they truly worked well together. Which was unfortunate for me. At that moment, a ball of water formed around me, closing me inside of what I could only describe as a literal water prison. I fought violently against it, but nothing I did made even the slightest bit of damage.

"Don't bother, kid." There was a sadistic amusement in his voice. "This water is as hard as steel."

Itachi attacked Mike relentlessly, but Mike did little to counter. My kindhearted brother had no reason to desire a fight with the ruthless ninja. Nothing I did brought me any closer to freedom, and I only had one option left.

"Please. Kisame," I wined, hopelessly pounding against the steel-water, "let me out! I need to stop this fight! Itachi thinks that's his brother, but he's not. That's my brother, and Itachi is really going to hurt him if you don't _let me out!_ Please, Kisame, please!" My voice trembled, sounding as panicked as I truly felt. Every second that ticked by, Itachi came closer and closer to finishing my brother off. "He's all I've got left, Kisame, and I promised I'd protect him. I'm begging you, please!"

"Damn it, kid!" The water prison dissolved around me, "If you're lying, I'll cut you to ribbons!" His threat was lost in the wind as I sprinted toward the fight. Itachi ran toward Mike with a kunai knife in his hand. Mike just stood there taking all of Itachi's attacks without any attempt to counterattack.

My body moved without me really having time to think, and I threw myself in the way of Itachi's attack. He had no time to stop the blade once he realized what I had done and the kunai plunged deep into my shoulder. I didn't hesitate a moment in spite of the pain to punch Itachi right in the face.

I continued to punch and kick weakly, but he dodged every attempt after the first.

"That's not your brother, Itachi." I managed between swings, "That's my brother Mike and I refuse to let you hurt him!" We both stopped suddenly, the bitter cold winter's wind whistling dramatically around us. "You'll have to go through me first."


	4. The Challenge

**Recap:**

My body moved without me really having time to think, and I threw myself in the way of Itachi's attack. He had no time to stop the blade once he realized what I had done and the kunai plunged deep into my shoulder. I didn't hesitate a moment in spite of the pain to punch Itachi right in the face.

I continued to punch and kick weakly, but he dodged every attempt after the first.

"That's not your brother, Itachi." I managed between swings, "That's my brother, Mike, and I refuse to let you hurt him!" We both stopped suddenly, the bitter cold winter's wind whistling dramatically around us. "You'll have to go through me first."

**Chapter Four~ The Challenge**

There are very few things Itachi had done in all the time that we'd spent together that surprised me. He either didn't say or do anything, or he acted and spoke according to the nature I'd come to know and expect of him. In that instant, he did the second most surprising thing I'd ever witnessed him do: Itachi fell to his knees, startling me slightly with the sudden movement, and bowed at my feet.

A look of utter confusion played across my face as the man Kakashi had described not too long ago as a cold-hearted murderer started begging for my forgiveness. "Please forgive me, Shay-Chan." That's another thing: What was with all of that adding a random syllable to the end of my name business? "I thought the boy was Sasuke, I swear it. I meant no harm, especially not to your brother after what you have done for me. I'm sorry to both of you."

In his defense, Kakashi had never accused Itachi of not being respectful. Just the way he spoke, now that I was really thinking about it, hinted at his respectful nature.

"Are you okay, Mike?" I glanced over my shoulder at my brother, unable to ignore the instant pang of guilt that rang through me when I saw him on his knees with a look of pain he was trying hard to mask. Nevertheless, true to his nature, he gave me a friendly smile and a thumbs up. "Then there's no harm done. Please, stand back up, Itachi. Everything is fine. It was just a misunderstanding." I stooped down and grabbed his arm, pulling him back to his feet and ignoring the wave of pain that came from my shoulder at the motion, I reiterated, "No harm done."

He allowed me to pull him back to his feet, sincerity in his Sharingan eyes. Kisame finally arrived at the battle at that point, the whole exchange between Itachi and me lasting mere seconds, although it felt longer. "Guess the kid was telling the truth. I was really in the mood to cut something, too."

With my last bit of strength after using the Darkness, I tore the kunai knife from my shoulder and threw it at Kisame, only succeeding in putting a hole in his robe. "I suggest you reconsider that action in your head." I warned in a low, deadly growl, "It would be very unwise to go through with it."

"Kisame," even the sound of Itachi's voice didn't stop the two of us from continuing to glare at each other, "these children are not our enemies, and if you harm them, you'll have to answer to me." The two of us didn't break eye contact. "I'd have to advise against fighting with this girl anyway. She's tougher than she looks, and obviously hurting her brother is more of a death wish than pissing her off."

Kisame sneered mockingly, "Considering how she was begging for her release, she doesn't seem like anything special."

I looked shamefully away from the both of them. "Because she's smart." Itachi countered coolly. I met his eyes, slightly confused. "She has an instinct to do whatever she has to in order to protect the one she loves." I gave him a soft smile.

Clutching my wounded shoulder, I fell down on one knee, cringing from the pain that had somehow not registered until then. The blood loss was already starting to take its toll.

"Shay!" It was Dean and Olivia arriving at last. Dean immediately dropped to his knees at my side with no initial acknowledgment for the ninja. "Are you okay?" Olivia dashed straight past me to check on Mike, which she would never hear the end of later. "Who did this to you?" He turned his attention to Itachi at last, meeting the strange man with a stare of the utmost intensity. "Was it this guy?" He stood, more than ready to take Itachi on.

I desperately reached out and grabbed his ankle with my good arm. "No, Dean, it was Marc and Shawn." Lying to Dean was not something that bothered me much, and I knew Mike wouldn't contradict my claim. "These men helped us."

"Alright, Shay," He knelt down once again, smoothing back my hair, "as long as you're safe."

I let out a soft sigh at avoiding another full scale battle. "I'm fine."

Mike came over to us, using Olivia as a crutch, a friendly smile on his face just the same. "Same here, but I think it's about time we head home."

Dean wrapped his jacket around my shoulders as I struggle to stand back up. "You guys go one ahead, I just want to have a few words with out new friends." I didn't miss Kisame cringe slightly at the word.

They all nodded and obeyed without question. Once they were out of ear shot, Itachi inquired, "Why did you lie to your friend? And who are Marc and Shawn?"

"I lied to Dean because he would have killed you if he knew the truth." I looked up at the stars in the sky, feeling a little light-headed. "As for Marc and Shawn, they're the people I mistook you and Kisame for. They've been after my brother and me for some time now, and with your red eyes and dark hair, you resemble Shawn, who is also about your age, greatly." I met Itachi's eyes with a dark and serious tone in my voice and continued, "The real reason I stayed behind was to tell you that you can't tell anyone about the existence of our kind. If you plan on doing so, I'll have no choice but to take you both out now, and believe me I won't hesitate." I threatened, having to clue about how I planned on backing up such strong words in my current condition.

"Don't worry, Shay-Chan, we won't tell anyone."

I nodded and walked past him in pursuit of my loved ones who waited loyally at the end of the dock for me. "You two take care."

"But, wait-" Itachi called after me. I stopped and turned my ear in his direction so he'd know I was listening, but I didn't have the strength to turn around. "I wish to know more about your kind."

I paused for a long moment, carefully considering what a good way to answer his request would be. "Then I propose a challenge. In three weeks, I'll be traveling back to my home in the Fire Village. I'll only be there for a single week." I paused again, this time because I was starting to feel pretty weak. "It's in a forest in Pennsylvania, but that's all I'm going to tell you. You may come across one of our other villages, and any one of them will be able to point you in the right direction. That dagger I left over there," I nodded my head in the direction of the dagger I'd nearly used to end Sasuke's life, "bring it with you. Show it to the leader, Aaron, or you won't get anywhere near me."

"Got it." Itachi started toward the dagger as I began toward my friends again.

"If you make it, I'll tell you anything you desire to know." I said loudly enough so that he could hear me, then said slightly softer, "Good bye, Itachi Uchiha. Stay safe." Although those last words were uttered basically to myself since neither Itachi nor Kisame could hear them.


End file.
